The idea of an association of development bankers had originated in Manila in 1969 at the Fourth Regional Conference of Development Financing Institutions of Asia and the Pacific under the auspices of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Such an idea further gained substance during the UNIDO Banker’s Meetings which commenced in 1970 in Paris. At the last UNIDO Meeting in Caracas, it was learned that two regional associations, namely the Latin American (ALIDE) and African (AADFI) regional associations, had been formed.
It was also reported in Caracas that similar institutions were contemplated for the Arab countries and for countries in Eastern Europe. The DFIs from the Asian and Pacific region attending the Caracas meeting agreed then that it would be timely to form an Association of Asia-Pacific DFIs.
At the end of the sixth Regional Conference, October 1, 1976, 31 DFIs attending the Conference in Manila under the auspices of ADB jointly signed a Memorandum of Agreement to adopt the Constitution of what came to be known as the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific or ADFIAP, and affirmed their interest in becoming members of the Association.